The Arkansas Board of Education added a second reason for running the Pine Bluff School District — academic distress.
The board decided on Thursday to put the district into Level 5 - Intensive Support, because of poor academic performance, overstaffing and other issues.
In September, the board took over the district, eliminating the locally elected school board and appointing an outside official to handle the day-to-day affairs of the district because of spending practices that threaten to deplete all operating revenue before the end of this school year.
As a result, the state Department of Education will do an analysis of all the district’s systems and offer support to make changes.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.